Dare You to Move
by grimmkittylove
Summary: Songfic. Kratos remembers the journey, escpecially the precious time with his son. FatherSon, NOT incest.


**Dare You To Move**

A** Tales of Symphonia Songfic** by **Silverstar's Shadow**

**Disclaimer:** I. Don't. Own. Anything. Got it? Tales of Symphonia and all related characters, scenes, objects, whatever belongs to Namco, and the song "Dare You to Move" belongs to Switchfoot (one of the awesomest bands on the face of the earth, hehehe). Not me. No matter how much I wish for it to be different. Comprende?

**A/N:** Here's my longest songfic yet! I'm not sure if I like it yet, but whatever.

Kratos is on Derris-Kharlan, remembering. The flashbacks are in no particular order, though.

xOxXxOx

_Welcome to the planet_

_Welcome to existence_

_Everyone's here_

_**Everyone's here**_

xOxXxOx

Kratos sighed. The Chosen had decided that she wanted to talk to Lloyd, so naturally her group had to go with her, Kratos included. The mercenary frowned slightly as they walked, contemplating the odds that the boy was who Kratos thought he was… the name was a major clue, and he was around the correct age...

When they arrived at the house, they group accidentally eavesdropped on an argument between the dwarf and Lloyd, Kratos of course hearing everything with perfect clarity. 'Your Exsphere is special… the Desians killed your mother in order to take it from her.' The facts kept adding up.

The mercenary's gaze wandered around the clearing, to rest on a simple grave. His breath caught at the name on the stone. Anna…

Kratos slowly made his way to stand in front of the mound, barely even noticing when Lloyd made his dramatic exit. He was semi-conscious that the boy was conversing with the others, but it didn't occur to him that he might be next until Lloyd was standing right next to him, so lost was he in his memories.

The boy's presence snapped him back into reality.

"Whose gravestone is this?" Kratos asked quietly, preparing himself for the answer, whatever it may be.

Lloyd looked uneasy. "Ah, you heard, right? It's my mom's." Now there was too much proof to ignore. _His mother's name is Anna. The Desians were chasing her for her Exsphere… he was too young to remember when it happened… and he has Noishe. My son is standing right next to me._

"Anna…hmm… Is your father alive?" _Does he think I'm dead? For some reason I hope he does… Maybe it's selfish of me, but perhaps it would be better for him…_

Lloyd was silent for a moment. "…I don't know. But Dirk is my dad."

Kratos flinched inwardly. "…Yes. That was a careless thing to ask. I'm sorry." Lloyd turned to walk away, probably to speak with the Chosen, the reason she'd come. Kratos sighed and returned his gaze to his wife's grave, wondering, again, if there was any way he could have stopped this from happening.

xOxXxOx

_Everybody's watching you now_

_Everybody__ waits for you now_

_What happens next_

_**What happens next**___

xOxXxOx

Kratos watched in silence as the group arrived at Origin's seal, unsure of what to feel when his gaze rested on his son. "…So you've come."

Lloyd looked uncertain, as if he wasn't sure he wanted to do this. "Is there no other way?"

"…Are you still thinking like that?" Kratos asked sharply. "You'll die if you fight me with any doubt left in your heart. If you want the pact with Origin, then you must defeat me." The Seraph showed little emotion during the whole speech, though everything inside screamed for anything that would get Lloyd out of the current situation.

"So…that's your way," the twin swordsman said with disappointment dripping from every word. He turned to his group. "Everyone. Leave this to me."

"…You're going to fight alone?" Kratos asked, again overly calm in order to restrain himself.

Lloyd nodded "…If it's your wish to settle things with your past, then it's my duty as your son to see it through."

Lloyd drew his sword, shouting, "Get ready!"

_**I could never be prepared enough for this…**_

xOxXxOx

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_**Today never happened befor**__**e**_

xOxXxOx

"…You've grown strong." The auburn haired angel said, wincing slightly at the ferocity of his wounds.

Lloyd paused for a moment. "…Thanks to you."

"Aren't you…going to finish me?"

Lloyd shook his head. "I defeated Kratos, the angel, the one who betrayed us. And I forgive Kratos, the hero of the Ancient War, who helped us. That's all."

"Humph…and I thought I'd finally earned the right to die." _Gods know I deserve at least that._ "…But you're as softhearted as ever."

Kratos stood up and approached the seal, ignoring the twinging of his injuries.

"H…hold on!" Lloyd spluttered. "You can't be…are you going to break the seal?" _Obviously._

Kratos looked at his son oddly. "…That is what you desire, is it not?"

"But then, you'll…" _…die, at last…_

The Seraph revealed his angel wings, not pausing to acknowledge the usual icy feeling he got every time he did so. Brow furrowed in concentration under his bangs, Kratos opened the seal.

To say that the process was draining would be a major understatement. It felt as though every ounce of strength he had was leaving him at an alarming rate. Origin's whispers echoed in his ears, but he hardly heard them. He was reliving the precious moments he'd had with his wife and son, barely noticing as he fell to the ground…

Soon, though, all faded to black. Kratos almost smiled. This was death? Not painful at all. The blackness seemed to be welcoming him, in fact. He vaguely heard a shout that sounded like his name, but it was unimportant…

Suddenly, the gloom around him began to fade into a lighter gray, then white, and the angel felt his strength return. _What the…_

"…Don't worry, he's alive," a voice was saying. "I gave him some of my mana." _Yuan?_

"Da… …Kratos. Are you really okay?" Kratos opened his eyes to see his son staring at him concernedly.

Kratos took a moment to collect his thoughts. "…Looks like I failed to die once more." A wave of despondence crashed over him. _Yet another failure, Kratos…_

"You stupid jerk!" Lloyd yelled in frustration. "You can die any time! But when you die, that's the end."

Yuan put in his two cents. "You want him to live in eternal damnation?"

Lloyd rounded on the half-elf. "Who said anything like that?! What will you accomplish by dying? Nothing! There is no meaning in dying!!"

Kratos pondered the words for a moment. "…You're…right." He laughed bitterly. "To think, I had to have my son teach me such an obvious lesson."

Exhaustion consumed Kratos again, and this time, he blacked out without another thought.

xOxXxOx

_Welcome to the fallout_

_Welcome to resistance_

_The tension is here_

_Tension is here_

_Between who you are _

_A__nd who you could be_

_**Between how i**__**t is **_

_**A**__**nd how it should be**_

xOxXxOx

Near the Tower of Salvation…

"Are you really going to Derris-Kharlan?" Lloyd asked the man in front of him quietly

Kratos nodded. "If a half-elf of Cruxis remains here, the other half-elves will have no place to live. As a surviving member of Cruxis, I must bear the responsibility for what has happened."

"I'm going to collect all the Exspheres remaining in this land."

" …And I will discard all of Cruxis' Exspheres into space. I've dragged you into this until the very end," he said, regret dripping from every word.

"It's okay…" _No, it's not, really…_

"…It's time for me to go. Please use that sword to send us to

Derris-Kharlan."

The indecision was clear on the brunette's face, but it soon turned to determination. "…Goodbye…Dad!…"

"…" _He called me Dad… heh._

As Kratos opened his mouth to say something more, there was a flash of light, and he was moving. He closed his eyes with a sigh. He'd failed, again, to say what was truly important, and this time, he wouldn't be able to fix it.

"…Don't die before I do, Lloyd…my son," the angel said to thin air, then left to fulfill the promise he'd made. This one, he intended to keep.

xOxXxOx

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_**Today never happened**_

xOxXxOx

Kratos sighed in frustration. He was in front of a small dwelling, the home of the dwarf Altessa, surrounded by Renegade soldiers, while Yuan was inside, wresting awake Kratos' only living relative. As usual, he could hear everything as clearly as if the conversation was happening right next to him.

Yuan seemed to be threatening the young swordsman. "…Do you want to meet your father?"_ Oh, Gods no…_

"!! What have you done with my dad?!" The Seraph's heart wrenched. Lloyd thought Yuan meant the dwarf…

Lloyd burst out of the house, running smack into the group of Renegades, who promptly turned their swords on him. Kratos contemplated sneaking away while the soldiers were focused on Lloyd, but the paternal, responsible part of him resisted.

Lloyd dashed any possibilities (or rather, half-hearted hopes **A/N: Sorry, didn't mean to use the alliteration**) of escape by drawing attention to the angel's presence. "…Kratos! The Renegades and Cruxis are enemies, aren't they?! So why?…"

Yuan snapped, "Quiet. …Of course, the drug should have everyone sleeping soundly."

"Drug?! …Where's my dad? If you've done anything to my dad, I'll tear every last one of you to pieces!" _He doesn't mean you,_ a voice whispered in the Seraph's mind. _He's worried about the dwarf. Not you._

"Now, now, is that the way to act when you're about to meet your father for the first time?" Yuan asked, barely suppressing his pleasure. _Damn you, Yuan… _

Kratos spoke in an attempt to change the subject. "So it was you. You were the assassin who tried to kill me at Hima."

"Kratos," Yuan said, obviously undeterred. "If you value your son's life at all, do as we say." _Damn you, damn you, damn you all to the darkest pits of hell…_

"What are you…talking about?" Lloyd asked, panicked.

"Release Origin's seal," Yuan demanded. "Otherwise, Lloyd will die right here." Kratos froze, then immediately relaxed. _Must not show emotion… must not show emotion… I won't let him see…_

"No…Kratos can't be my dad. I c…I can't believe that… I won't believe that!" The angel's heart caught in his throat, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear.

Yuan turned to Kratos, clearly intent on taunting him more. "How does it feel to have your own son reject you like that?"

_It's an agony that you'll never have to endure. You sh__ould feel blessed, bastard_. "…Humph."

"…I'd guess from your attitude, you don't plan on releasing Origin…" Yuan said. _Obviously not,_ the Seraph thought, snorting inwardly. _Otherwise I'd have done so already._ "If that's the way it's going to be, then you'll just have to die!"

Without any visible command, one of the Renegade soldiers put his sword up to Lloyd's throat.

"Ugh!!"

"One move, and your son dies!" the Renegade soldier threatened. Kratos froze.

"You changed once you got a family," Yuan said. "Just like that time fifteen years ago. When Anna was transformed into a monster, you lost your ability to fight back." _Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about._

"…What?" Lloyd looked confused.

Yuan continued. "If she hadn't been together with you, she would have never turned out like that. Such an unfortunate woman." _Why, you…_

True to his nature, Lloyd attempted to attack Yuan, but the Renegade soldier knocked him down. The boy just stood up again.

"Don't mock my mom!" he shouted, drawing his swords. The twin swordsman then proceeded to charge at the blue haired Seraph, who evaded.

Kratos saw Yuan's intentions, even before the half-elf had begun to form the ball of energy in his palm. As soon as he let the attack fly, Kratos leapt in front of it.

The pain was excruciating, he had to give Yuan that much. But he'd stopped the blue haired Renegade leader for now. _Heh… too bad Yuan… not that there's any reason he can't just try again…_

"…Kratos?"

Kratos sighed, ignoring the pain. "…Are you all right?" Lloyd nodded. "…Good."

Then everything went black.

xOxXxOx

_Maybe redemption has stories to tell_

_Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell_

_Where can you run to escape from yourself?_

_Where you gonna go?_

_Where you gonna go?_

_**Salvation is here**_

xOxXxOx

Lloyd spoke first after the group defeated Mithos. "…It's over."

"No, it's not," Kratos said. "The worlds are still split. The Giant Tree has still not yet germinated. You must release…Origin."

"…Do you know what that means? You might die!" the twin swordsman said angrily.

_If I__'m lucky._ "I tried to run from everything. I still need to pay for my past sins. For the sake of releasing Origin's seal, as well as for the sake of settling my past, Lloyd…you must defeat me."

Lloyd snapped. "You think I'm just gonna go along with that?!"

_You__'re going to have to._ "…I'll be waiting for you before the seal."

xOxXxOx

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself__, lift yourself up off the floor_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_Today never happened_

_Today never happened_

_**Today never happened before**_

xOxXxOx

**Silver**: How'd it turn out? -inspects piece- Hmmm. I don't hate it…

**Kratos**: …That's an improvement.

**Silver**: -.- Shut up, you.

**Kratos**: ...Read and review, if only to make her a bit less annoying.


End file.
